Synthetic nucleotide containing compositions for use in security marking of property and/or for marking a thief or attacker are known in the art. Indeed, the present applicant has already developed and marketed several products containing such compositions. Some examples of the present applicant's products which utilize such compositions are discussed below.
The SelectaDNA® property marking kit comprises a pot of adhesive which can be applied to property using an applicator in order to mark the property with a unique composition which can be traced back to the owner in the event of the property being stolen by a thief and then retrieved by the police. Each pot of adhesive contains a unique DNA composition and also several thousand microdots dispersed throughout the adhesive. Each microdot contains a unique registration code and a database telephone number or internet address. A database is maintained by a service provider linking each unique registration code to details of the owner of the property, e.g. name, address and/or telephone number of the owner. These details may be obtained when an owner of the property purchases the property marking kit and entered into the database. This database, or a second database, also contains information about the unique DNA composition which is either linked to the registration code or directly to the owner's details. The adhesive also contains a fluorescent material which emits visible light under UV light in order to allow the adhesive marking on the property to be readily located by the police.
When a stolen item of property is recovered by the police a UV lamp can be utilized to locate the adhesive marking on the property. Using a magnifying glass a microdot can be located within the adhesive marking and the unique registration code and a database telephone number or internet address can be read. The police can then phone the database telephone number and an operator of the database can use the unique registration code to provide details of the owner of the property such that the police can contact the owner and return the property. If the police can't locate a microdot in the adhesive marking then a small sample of the adhesive can be removed and sent to a laboratory for analysis to obtain information about the unique DNA composition dispersed throughout the adhesive. This information can then be used to identify the owner using the database. A sticker or other marking on the property can indicate a telephone number or internet address which the police may use to contact the database operator in the absence of any microdots.
The aforementioned kit thus provides two possible methods for tracing the owner of stolen property, via the microdots or via the unique DNA composition. However, it is of course envisaged by the present applicant that either one of these methods may be used on there own. Indeed, for some applications it may not be appropriate to provide microdots in a security marking composition. For example, it may not be appropriate to provide microdots in compositions which are to be expelled as an aerosol to mark a thief or attacker as such microdots may block the dispensing nozzle and/or be readily washed off.
Such is the case for the present applicant's DNA PERSONAL ALARM which does not use microdots. This product comprises a hand-held personal alarm in the form of a pressurized container housing a composition which comprises a unique DNA composition and a fluorescent material of the kind used in the previously described property marking kit. As described in relation to the property marking kit, a database is maintained by a service provider linking information about each unique DNA composition to details of the owners of the personal alarms. If an owner is attacked they can spray their attacker using the personal alarm. Subsequently, if apprehended, a UV lamp can be utilized to locate the DNA composition on the attacker. A small sample of the composition can be removed and sent to a laboratory for analysis to obtain information about the unique DNA composition. This information can then be used to identify the owner of the personal alarm using the database. As such, the attacker can be unarguably linked to the attack on the owner of the personal alarm, any stolen property can be returned, and the information used to secure a conviction.
Yet another use of synthetic DNA containing compositions is in building security system, particularly at entry points such as doors and windows. A building security system which dispenses a fluid for deterring and/or identifying an intruder is described in the present applicant's own earlier patent application, GB0804493.5. In this earlier application it is described that a particularly useful formulation comprises a DNA marker/identifier, a UV tracer/fluorescent material, a propellant, and optionally a solvent which may be organic, e.g. an alcohol, or aqueous. As with the aforementioned property marking kit and personal alarm, a database is maintained by a service provider linking information about each unique DNA composition to details of the owners of the security system. If a building is broken into by a burglar, the security system sprays the intruder with the DNA composition. Subsequently, if apprehended, a UV lamp can be utilized to locate the DNA composition on the intruder. A small sample of the composition can be removed and sent to a laboratory for analysis to obtain information about the unique DNA composition. This information can then be used to identify the owner of the building using the database. As such, the intruder can be unarguably linked to the burglary such that any stolen property can be returned and the information used to secure a conviction.
One problem which the present applicant has identified with current products on the market is that the proprietary synthetic DNA used therein requires special Biotage® equipment to analyse the DNA instead of the more commonly used Sanger equipment. The present applicant has realized that there would be a big commercial advantage to enabling the use of standard Sanger equipment because of its wide availability and usage. This would enable the present applicant to sell products, such as the previously described property marking kit, personal alarm and building security system to distributors abroad. Using Biotage® seriously limits commercial opportunities because it is very difficult to find labs that both: (1) have the equipment; and (2) are willing do analysis on a commercial level. Furthermore, the present applicant considers that overseas police forces will want to perform the DNA analysis in their own country for practical, political and/or legal reasons and would not want to rely upon proprietary equipment located in a foreign country.
Another problem which the present applicant has identified is that the synthetic DNA compositions used in current products are not optimized for the security marking applications described herein. In particularly, the present applicant believes that the individual DNA strands in current compositions are overly long. Generally, the longer the DNA strands, the more costly they are to manufacture and the more costly they are to analyze.
It is an aim of the present invention to solve the problems described above.